xenosagafandomcom-20200223-history
Wilhelm
Wilhelm is the mysterious founder and CEO of the largest interplanetary conglomerate, Vector Industries. He also served as the Executive Committee Director of the Galaxy Federation, up to a decade ago. To be the founder of Vector and the Executive Committee, Director Wilhelm must be very old, much older than any normal human could possibly live. He is seen still in his youth during the events of Pied Piper and leaked production notes suggest (this may have canonically changed) that he has existed since the discovery of the Original Zohar 4000 years before the present game time. Some writings suggest that he may have even funded the Masuda expedition (featured at the very beginning of Episode I) that uncovered the Zohar in the first place. It is speculated that Wilhelm might not be entirely human. Wilhelm is one of the most suspicious characters in the Xenosaga series; it seems he is manipulating every other conglomerate and individual for his own personal gain. Wilhelm also has an affinity for referring to life's situations as if they were all a part of some universal theatrical play. Wilhelm is also an avid fan of chess, adding fuel to the dramatic approach of his manipulations. As the head of Vector, Wilhelm has control of the UMN transport gates, meaning absolute control of galactic transportation, communication, and, most importantly the Realians. As Virgil points out in Episode I, a control code is built into all realians, which Wilhelm would obviously know and be able to take advantage of. Although it appears that U-DO was the force behind the Realian riots during the Miltian Conflict, an argument could be made that someone such as Wilhelm could have been manipulating events behind the scenes as a distraction. Regardless of which case is true, Wilhelm could at any time take control of every Realian in the galaxy and create a massive army. Wilhelm uses an artifact called the Compass of Order and Chaos when he makes a move. He is often seen staring into it, sometimes obsessively. It is quite possible that Wilhelm is using the Compass of Order as a vision into the future. With such knowledge, Wilhelm could easily manipulate circumstances in the present to aid him in the future. Wilhelm's assistants are the Testaments, powerful and mysterious agents. The extent and nature of the Testaments' power is unknown, but they seem to be Wilhelm's closest personal advisors and subordinates. By the end of the second game we have seen four Testaments, each dressed in different-colored robes: black, red, blue, and white. All of the Testaments have previously been killed in some way or another, and they were somehow resurrected by the intervention of Wilhelm and became Testaments. At the end of Xenosaga Episode II, there is a brief scene involving chaos and Wilhelm. Chaos explains that he will not hold back, and Wilhelm seems delighted that chaos is finally "entering the stage." Wilhelm then addresses chaos as "Yeshua," which may hint to a past partnership or rivalry between the two men. This could mean that Wilhelm is the antichrist, as "Yeshua" is said to be Jesus' true name. Wilhelm also appears to own an E.S. or E.S.-like silver mech which is briefly glimpsed in the epilogue at the end of Episode II. The mech appears to have a long spike protruding out from the elbow joint of its left arm and a series of tubes or wires stretching out from the elbow joint of its right arm, curving around its back and connecting with the mech's right shoulder. A strange glowing blue symbol or object can also be glimpsed somewhere on the mech's chasis as well though it was obscured by the mech's own shadow. This unit will more than likely make a return appearance in Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra. Wilhelm's link to the collective mythos upon which Xenosaga is based may lie in the subtitles of the Xenosaga games, Der Wille zur Macht, Jenseits von Gut und Böse and Also Sprach Zarathustra. These titles are shared with publications by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, whose middle name is shared by Wilhelm himself. This link helps to attribute Wilhelm to his role as an enigmatic manipulator of the events which unfold in Xenosaga. His name may also be a play on Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German emperor who lived during World War I, and may refer to him being the last "ruler" of a group or nation, perhaps humanity in general. The name Wilhelm is also a contraction of the German for Will and Helmet, or, as another source suggests, "the will to protect." This would imply that Wilhelm’s intentions are good, although that is definitely unclear at this point. Some have noted that physically and personality wise Wilhelm is the direct opposite of chaos. He has pale skin and red eyes to chaos's brown skin and blue eyes. Wilhelm is also an active manipulator of nearly all significant events while chaos takes a laid back pacificistic role to all things. Category:Vector employees Category:Leaders Category:Mysterious characters